Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 8382, Abijah Eaton, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass
Eaton, Abijah
88382
CONTENTS
carded

10-784-
New Hampshire Abijah Holton
Rockingham the State of N H who was a member in the company commanded by Captain of the  by Col W. D. commanded for 8 months  days
★ Mass. Line Records corrected foot a year
Inserted in the Bill of N H at the rate of 28 Dollars 32 Cents per annum, to commence on the 1 st day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 25 th day of Sept 1835 and due since 1835 D r Hovey Atkinson N H Amount to the 1 st of Jan 1835 $56.64 Amount allowance ending 21 Sept " 14.16 $70.80
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { due June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by J. H. N. Bliss Clerk, Book 2, Vol. 1, Page 83.

112 the Revolution I served as he states in the foregoing declaration by him subscribed & that we concur in that opinion Sworn to & subscribed the day & 24th year first within mentioned before me Sam Green Asso. Just.
And I the said Sam Green Asso. Just. do hereby certify it as my opinion after the investigation of the matter & after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Depart- ment, that the above named Applicant was a revolutionary soldier & served as he states, & I do further certify that it appears to me that Sadd Hatfield & Moses Emery who have signed the proceeding certificate are residents in Haverhill Mass. & are credible persons, & that their statement is entitled to credit Sam Green Asso. Just.
I Peter Goodwin Clerk of the Superior Court of Judicature for the County of Rockingham and State aforesaid do hereby certify that Samuel Green whose signature appears to the foregoing certificate, is an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature for said State & New Hampshire. And that the foregoing are the original proceedings had before the said Samuel Green in his said capacity in the matter of the application of Elijah Eaton for a pension
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Court this Eleventh day of August Anno Domini 1832
P. Goodwin Clerk of the Court Rockingham Co. N.H.

State of New Hampshire
County of Rockingham I, On this fourth day of August A.D. 1832 personally appeared before me Samuel Green an oaths of the Superior Court of Judicature in New Hampshire State of New Hampshire, being first duly sworn, made oaths to the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832 viz:
That at the out of the year 1775 he enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary war at Haverhill in the State of Massachusetts for the term of two months, the company into which he enlisted was commanded by his father, Dea. Johnathan Webber, was one of the Continental troops immediately after he enlisted he marched to Cambridge & thence to Roxbury then called Jamaica Plains, where he remained during the two months, at the expiration of that time the other officers of the Company were requested by the Officers to remain still in service until their places could be supplied by others, he accordingly remained there until a month before the time of service for which he enlisted, I was then regularly dismissed but has no written discharge Col. B. Dickey & Haverhill Mass. & Genl. Heath were present at the time of rendering said service.
Again enlisted at Haverhill, Mass. in June 1776 for four or five months under Capt. Joseph Colburn of said Haverhill, marched immediately to Saratoga New York I was present at the surrender of Burgoyne, went from thence to Albany & White Plains, remained at the latter place until the term of his enlistment was expired, when he was regularly dismissed but received no written discharge.
Again enlisted at Haverhill a third time, about August 1780 for three months under Capt. Jonathan Dyer I went to West Point & there did duty during the term for which he enlisted - Col. Wade commanded the Regiment to which he belonged.
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity except the present declared that his name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any state.
Abijah Foster
Subscribed the day & year last above mentioned
Before me Sam Green Atty Pub. L.
We Sudd Colzelline & Moses Emery both of Haverhill Mass. hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Abijah Colburn, lived in the same neighborhood with him for thirty years or more & that we believe him to be seventy three years of age, that he is respected & believed in the neighborhood where lived during that time to have been a soldier

of the Revolution served as he states in the foregoing declaration by him subscribed & that we concur in that opinion
Given & subscribed the day & year first within mentioned before me Sam Green Aso. Just.
Sam Green
And I the said Sam Green Aso. Just. do hereby certify that it is my opinion after the investigation of the matter after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the above named Applicant was a revolutionary soldier served as he states, & I do further certify that it appears to me that Sadd Hatfield & Moses Emery who have signed the proceeding certificate are residents in Haverhill Mass. & are credible persons, & that their statement is entitled to credit.
Sam Green Aso. Just.
I Peter Bloodgood Clerk of the Superior Court of Judicature for the County of Rockingham and State aforesaid do hereby certify that Samuel Green whose signature appears to the foregoing certificate, is an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature for said State of New Hampshire And that the foregoing are the original proceedings had before the said Samuel Green in his said capacity in the matter of the application of Elijah Eaton for a pension.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of said Court this eleventh day of August Anno Domini 1832
Peter Bloodgood Clerk of the Court Rockingham County

State of New Hampshire
Concord March 18. 1833
The said Elijah Eaton who has subscribed & sworn to the foregoing declaration personally appearing before me the said Samuel Green for further examination makes the following additional declaration vizt
That according to his best knowledge & belief he was born in Haverhill in the State of Massachusetts in the year 1759, where he supposes his age as on record at the time of the several enlistments mentioned in his said declaration he lived in Haverhill aforesaid.
- That at the age of thirty, he removed to Atkinson present place of residence & has resided there since.
- That Col. Brickett & Genl. Heath mentioned in his declaration are both dead, & that he knows of no person who can testify to the first & second terms of service therein mentioned, except Stephen Webster of Concord in the County of Merrimack & State of New Hampshire, who was with him the whole or most of the time when these services were rendered & whose affidavit is annexed.
That at the time of making his said declaration he verily believed the second term of service mentioned was four or five months, but as said Webster has told him that it was only three months, he is led to conclude, must have misrecalled it. That at the close of the last term of service mentioned in his declaration he had a written discharge which has been mislaid for so long that he has been unable, on diligent search, to find it & who signed said discharge he is unable to recollect. That during the last term of service Samuel Bradley & Samuel Eaton whose affidavits are annexed were both with him & knew of his rendering said services.
Witness my hand & seal
Elijah Eaton
Subscribed & sworn to the day & year first above named Before me Saml Green Afsd
And the said Samuel Green do hereby declare it as my opinion after the investigation of the matter & after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department that said Applicant was a Revolutionary soldier & served as he states & am I do further certify that from information received from credible persons, I entertain no doubt that Samuel Bradley & Samuel Eaton whose affidavits are annexed are entitled to implicit belief.
Saml Green Afsd

8:40 AM Elijah Calton
9 th March 8 Mo 4 15 th May
How to be saved A. R.
5 14. 4/6 06 Jan'y 25. 1833 9 28 32
P 215 Isaac B Hovey Esq Athens N.H. P.O. Box 100 N. Londonderry N.H.

BRIEF in the case of Abijah Eaton of the County of Rockingham in the State of N. Hampshire  (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Judge  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? Not ascertained  4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
   Period. Duration of Service. Rank. Names of General and Field Officers, under whom he served.   Years. Months. Days. Asa Gen.     In 1775 2 15 Private Col. Bracket, Capt. Easton   " 77 June 1 3 ditto Same Capt.   " 80 Aug. 3 ditto Col. Wade, Capt. Ayers  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? None  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Haverhill Mass.  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditional evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Depositions  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? No Clergyman's Certificate 
I CERTIFY that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
Levin D. Dole Examining Clerk.

Rec'd
8382 INVALID.
File No. 8382
Abijah Eaton
Main Rec. War
Act: June 1 st  1862.
Index:—Vol. 102 , Page 108
[Arrangement of 1870.]

N o 9704 Abijah Piles
M m E. Everett H.R.
Isaac D. Hovey Esq. Attorney N.H.

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Abijah Eaton which require further proof or explanation.
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? yes II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? yes III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned for his not doing so? IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? yes V. * Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled? yes in 2 places no elsewhere VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? yes VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? yes VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? yes IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? yes X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? yes

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? yes XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? no XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had? XIV. If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility? Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under his seal of office? XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service? yes in one case see p. 2 of 2 XVI. Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered?
 EXPLANATORY NOTES.
QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
“Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades: For _____ year _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____. For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension.”

It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable.
QUERE XIV.  Proof of Service.
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
QUERE XVI.  Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticated the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the end of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.

I Stephen Webster of Concord in the County of Merrimack & State of New Hampshire do hereby declare that the last of the year 1775 I enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary War at Haverhill & subsequently for the term of two months the company into which I enlisted was under the command of Capt. Timothy Eaton. Stephen Webster a distant connection of mine was one of the Lieutenants & with the rest of the company marched immediately to Cambridge Mass & from thence to Roxbury then called Jamaica Plains where I remained during said two months. I well recollect that Heman Eaton then of Haverhill Mass but now of Atkinson in the County of Rockingham & who has subscribed & sworn to the declaration to which this is annexed was in the same company with me & served the full term of two months & I have no recollection of being requested to remain in the service after the two months stated in said Eaton's declaration said Eaton himself belonged to the same town at the time but don't remember that he returned home in company with me.
I also testify that about June 1777 I again enlisted at said Haverhill for three months under Capt. Joseph Eaton & marched immediately to Saratoga New York, & was present at the surrender of Burgoyne & went from thence to Albany & while there, I remained at the latter place until the three months expired & perfectly recollect that said Heman Eaton was in the same company with me & knew that he served said three months, at the expiration of which we were both verbally discharged & returned home together. Stephen Webster
Subscribed & sworn to this 28 th day of February A.D. 1833
Before me Sam Green Aso Justice Court New Hampshire
Seal of New Hampshire
Merrimack ss. Feb y 28. 1833, I hereby certify that I have lived in the same town with said Stephen Webster more than twenty years & have been well acquainted with him & know him to be of good character & understood veracity.
Sam Green Aso Jus. D.

I Samuel Eaton of Haverhill in the County of Essex Commonwealth of Massachusetts depose and say that I know Abijah Eaton of Atkinson in the County of Essex Rockingham and State of New Hampshire that (I think) in August 1780 I enlisted in the Militia of Massachusetts as a private soldier at Haverhill Mass. under Capt. Jonathan Ayer, that said Abijah Eaton enlisted at the same time, in the same company with me that we marched together to West Point & there remained till within about 3 days of 3 months, the time for which we enlisted when we were discharged.
his Samuel Eaton mark
Teste Stephen Minot Charles Minot.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Essex ss. Haverhill August 2. 1832 Then the above named Samuel Eaton subscribed by his mark, the above declaration & made oath that the same is true before me
Stephen Minot, Justice of Peace.
March 4. 1833. I certify that Samuel Eaton above named is a credible witness
Stephen Minot, Justice of Peace.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Essex ss: I John Prince Clerk of all the Judicial Courts in said County hereby certify that Stephen Minot is a Justice of the Peace in and for said County and that his within signature is genuine.
In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of the Court of Common Pleas at Salem this fifth day of March 1833.
John Prince Clerk

Daniel Bradley of Haverhill in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachu- setts do depose and say that I know Abijah Talon of Atkinson in the County of Rockingham State of New Hampshire that in 1780 I enlisted as a soldier in the Militia of Massachusetts at Haverhill Mass. under Capt. Jonathan Ayer of Haverhill that said Talon was in the same Company when I first enlisted and marched to West Point where I was taken out of that Company to do other ser- vice, I did not see Talon any more till after he was dismissed which was at the end of three months from the time of enlistment. Daniel Bradley
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Essex ss. Haverhill August 2. 1832
Then Daniel Bradley above named personally appearing before me made oath that the above deposition by him subscribed is true
Stephen Minot Justice of Peace
March 16 1833. Further verify that said Bradley is believed by me to be a credible witness Stephen Minot Justice of Peace

BOUNTY LAND WARRANT RECORD CARD*
NAME Eaton, Abither GRADE Private LINE Massachusetts
WARRANT NUMBER 4080 ACREAGE 100 ISSUED May 31, 1790 to Theodosius Fowler —
*The information concerning the issuance of warrants carded on this form is found in volumes 2 to 4 of "Land Warrants Issued Prior to 1800" which are registers of bounty land warrants issued to non-commissioned officers and privates under congressional resolutions of September 16, 1776, and subsequent dates. Other records relative to the applications for warrants appear to have been destroyed in the War Department fire of November 9, 1800. Information concerning warrants surrendered to the Federal Government is to be found in General Land Office records in The National Archives.